NOTES: First of all, I want to thank you, ForeverErica, for being my beta reader for this one (the English version). I haven't told you this yet—now you'll know—but every single one of my new writings, stories, and style has been inspired by yours. I'm in love with the way you write Jate, and I couldn't be more honored to have you as a partner to help me achieve this challenge.

To my readers: Thank you for joining me in this endeavor. Imagine this story as the way I envision Jate unfolding between Kate's trial and their engagement week. This is how I would like things to happen in a canon Lost universe. I've always wondered how they reached the point of becoming a happy family and how much love they have to share with each other. And since I love Jate, I hope you enjoy this one as much as I love them.

CHAPTER 1

"Do you wanna follow me? Come by for a visit?" Kate invited him, her heart full of hope that he was as ready to rekindle their relationship as she was. Someone had to make the first move.

Jack frowned, feeling uncomfortable with the invitation to her home. To Aaron.

"Um... I have to get back to the clinic, but maybe we could go out for coffee together or something," he replied with a gentle smile.

She smiled back, her heart sinking, so extremely dissapointed that Jack still showed no real signs of wanting to see Aaron.

"I know why you don't want to see the baby Jack. But until you do, until you want to... there´s no you and me going for coffee. But if you any time change your mind… come and see us."

Kate wasn't trying to shut him out or extinguish any possibility for them seeing each other again, but she needed him to understand that her son came first. If he wanted to be with her, he would have to resolve his internal conflicts about Aaron.

"Yeah, Okay" Jack answered, nodding and returning her smile.

Then, he opened the cab door for her. She could see the conflict in his eyes, and sighed.

"Bye" Kate said as she got in.

"Bye" Jack watched her get into the car and then closed the door. The driver sped up, and Kate was gone.

Their last conversation after the trial kept replaying in Jack´s mind. Kate had made it clear that he needed to make the decision to get involved with Aaron if he wanted to be a part of her life again.

Kate was the purest kind of strong and determined woman. It was one of the qualities that had most attracted him to her, but now that personality was putting him in trouble, making him realize that time was passing and he could really lose her forever.

Jack frowned, and his eyes moistened as these thoughts invaded his mind once more.

"I can't lose her. I can't lose her again" he thought as fear overtook him once again.

Months after leaving the island, he still berated himself for not being more resolute, for not being more direct with Kate about his feelings for her. He had so many opportunities to tell her how he felt.

"So many" Jack whispered to himself as he continued his internal monologue.

They had shared so much time together. She trusted him, and he had learned to trust her. Everyone on the island had noticed there was something more between them going on than just friendship, except for them, who couldn't quite acknowledge it. It didn't help that Sawyer had the personality he lacked: direct, confident, and seizing every opportunity with Kate, perhaps too much.

Loving Kate had been a torturous and difficult journey for Jack. His heart had been shattered into a thousand pieces multiple times, both by Kate and his own lack of initiative. Not only had he endured everyone knowing Sawyer was his rival, but he had also seen with his own eyes the woman he loved having sex with him. He also had to accept that Sawyer cared for her as much as he did. To top it off, when they were escaping in the helicopter, he saw up close, perhaps too close for his liking, Sawyer stole a goodbye kiss before he jumped into the sea.

"NO. Get out of there. Don't go there. Don't let it affect you. He's not here anymore" Jack had to repeat to himself to keep the sad and painful thoughts from preventing him from doing what he had to do.

"Okay. This has to end now."

A couple of days ago, Jack had realized he needed to take the initiative, resolve things, clear his head, and talk to Kate. But these repetitive and intrusive thoughts were taking over, making it hard for him to decide to act.

An incoming call on his phone snapped him out of his state of anxiety and brought him back to reality:

*Hugo Reyes calling…*

*Answer* *Decline*

"Hey, Hurley."

"Hey, Jack! How are you, man? I wanted to check in... I haven't heard from you in a while." Hugo greeted from the other end of the line.

"Everything's fine. I've been swamped with work since I came to the clinic... dealing with some personal stuff, but all good."

"Are you sure everything's alright?" Hurley sounded a bit worried about his friend's tone.

"Yeah, it's just that everything's been so crazy since we got back, you know... my father's funeral and then Kate's trial..." Jack's voice betrayed his overwhelmed state.

"Is Kate okay? Have you heard from her?"

Jack smiled, relieved. The outcome of Kate's trial was the only thing that had brought him any joy lately.

"Kate's going to be fine. She shouldn't have any more trouble."

"I saw on the news that you testified for her. How did she take it?"

"Well... she didn't know I was going to testify, so I think at first she was a bit upset. During the trial, she even asked the judge to stop my testimony" Jack paused, recalling the look they had shared when he was on the stand.

"Her lawyer didn't want the press to know I was testifying to avoid awkward questions."

"I saw the prosecutor tried to put you on the spot anyway," Hurley mentioned, referring to the question that had taken Jack several seconds to answer.

"I only have one question for you. Do you love the defendant?"

"Objection!" Kate's lawyer shouted.

The judge intervened, "You opened the door, Mr. Forrester. I'm going to allow it."

"Dr. Shepard, do you love Ms. Austen?" the prosecutor asked again.

Jack wasn't prepared for that question. Of course he loved Kate, but he couldn't afford to tell the truth and risk sending her to prison for the rest of her life. His testimony was the only thing they had to give Kate a chance, and it was why he had approached her lawyer to offer to testify for her. Kate had always had his back and supported him when he needed it. There was no way he would let her face the world alone when she needed him most. If Kate's freedom depended on him lying one more time, he would do it without hesitation, for her.

"No... not anymore."

Saying it in front of her hurt much more than he had anticipated.

"How I felt and the questions they asked me don't matter. I'd get back on that stand and defend her again if necessary."

"Even if it means lying?" Hurley knew too well the relationship Jack and Kate had, so he could imagine how hard it must have been for Jack to not respond truthfully to the prosecutor's question.

Jack seemed puzzled by Hurley's question. "Lying?"

"Jack... the whole country watched the trial, but those of us who know you and Kate from the island know you're in love with her. You know it, Kate knows it, even the polar bears on the island knew it," Hugo paused, hoping for some answer, but when none came, he continued. "I saw you struggling up there to say you don´t love Kate anymore, and it's probably tearing you apart inside right now."

There was a long silence from the other end of the line. Jack didn't know how to reply to that. It was entirely true and indisputable.

"Well, it seems Kate hasn't been as interested in me as I have been into her. Besides, I acted like an idiot, and we haven't had a real conversation in over a year" Jack explained sadly.

"It's okay, man, I shouldn't be telling you this, but you're my friend, and I see all that hospital anesthetic isn't helping you to think clearly. You do know Sun and Kate are close, right?"

"I know."

"Sun visited us a couple of days ago. We had a little gathering at my place with Sayid. She was in L.A. to support Kate during the trial, and you know... girls talk."

"I didn't know Sun was in L.A."

"Well, she asked us not to invite you to the meeting because of the trial. The press had you and Kate in their sights... you know, because of your history together" Hurley explained the reason for excluding him from the reunion.

"I understand" Jack affirmed, believing Hurley's reasoning was true. The press had been following him in recent weeks, seeking statements about Kate.

"Kate talked to Sun about you. She said she couldn't completely understand why you had distanced yourself from her after your father's funeral. She thought something had happened to you but that you were stubborn and had trouble asking for help when you needed it... so she felt she needed to give you space for a while, but then you just drifted away" Hugo confessed, hoping to help Jack. "You can talk to me, man. What's going on?" he asked, hoping Jack would open up.

"I'm sorry, Hurley, I can't talk about this with you."

"It's okay. I understand. I'll just tell you one thing."

"Go on."

"Talk to her. She's been waiting to know what's going on with you. She's angry but also worried, and..." Hugo paused to capture Jack's attention.

"And..." Jack added, urging Hugo to continue.

"She misses you, dude. So, if that's good news for you, I hope it brightens your day. Seriously, man... it's time to do something about it. She deserves an explanation" he encouraged Jack to resolve whatever he had pending with Kate.

"Thanks, Hurley" He cut the discusión short. He really appreciated his friend's insight. It gave him another reason to settle things with her as soon as possible.

"So, Cupid's going rate is abot 20 bucks an hour. We take credit and debit. Please hold and wait for a brief survey" Hurley joked to cheer up his friend.

Jack smiled at the joke. "Ha ha. Very funny."

"Seriously, Jack. Don't vanish. We're all worried about you and Kate. We just want to see you both happy." Hurley said.

"Noted, Hurley." Was all Jack felt comfortable saying.

"Okay. Bye." Jack hung up the phone, immediately feeling a sense of peace and resolution he hadn't felt in a long time. He told himself again:

"I'm not going to lose her again."

After a few minutes, he picked up his phone to make the call. His fingers felt weak as he searched for her name in the contact directory. He took a deep breath and counted to five, gathering courage.

*Calling:*

*Kate Austen*

…

…

…

00:01

00:02

00:03

00:04

"Hello? Jack?" Kate's voice came through the line.

00:05

"Hi, Kate" Jack finally greeted after a long silence.

"Hi" Kate responded, surprised. She hadn't expected his call, but was overjoyed to hear his voice.

"I'm calling because I wanted to know how you were" Jack paused, correcting himself. "I mean… how are you and Aaron after the trial?"

"We're… Aaron and I are good. I'm better now that things have calmed down," she added. She shared with him.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that." He let out a smile.

There was a long pause from the other side of the line. Things had been quite awkward between them for the past year, and the tension and lack of communication that had driven them further apart was evident.

Kate broke silence first. "Thank you, Jack. You risked your reputation and career, and it made a big difference in the trial. I have to admit, I wasn't happy with my lawyer and you ambushing me and you getting involved in this. The last thing I wanted was to involve you in this, but thank you."

At these words, Jack found himself replying, "I'd do it again if necessary" his voice cracking. "I just want you and Aaron to be happy."

He decided this was it. He finally had to be and straightforward about his feelings.

"Listen, Kate... I've thought about what you said that day in the parking lot after the trial."

Kate felt herself swelling with hope, but kept her voice even and steady "Okay."

"I…" he took a deep breath and sighed, gathering courage to continue. "I'm ready to talk about what's going on with me - I mean - I'm ready to talk to you about how I feel abou—"

"It's okay, Jack. I understand" Kate interrupted him abruptly before he could finish. She knew him enough and knew he was battling intensely to open his heart and explain what was going through his mind. She wouldn't be the one to persist in tormenting him like this. She favored discussing this with him in person.

"Are we okay then?" he asked, hoping Kate would agree to talk things through openly.

"We're okay."

"So, would you accept my invitation for coffee? So we can talk?"

"Yes, of course."

"Great. How about I pick you up at 4:00 pm?"

Jack had already taken the day off anyway.

"Today?" Kate asked, a bit surprised by the urgency in his invitation.

"Yes. Why not?" He had waited long enough to talk to Kate, which had been torture. He needed to figure things with her as soon as possible.

"Alright" Kate agreed. Although she thought it might be rushed, she also felt she had been wondering for too long what had driven Jack away from their lives and that the best thing for both of them would be to have that conversation as soon as possible.

"See you then."

"See you."